12032019-TTC-01.qxd 12-03-2019 01:32 Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda| jammu | srinagar | vol.3 no.70 | 20 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 | tuesday, march 12,2019 OWAISI JUNKS RAMZAN POLLING ROW PAGE 7 POST ETHIOPIAN HORROR, SOME NATIONS GROUND BOEING 737 MAX 8 JETS PAGE 13 /thetribunechd INDIA LAUNCHES FOUR B’DESH PROJECTS PAGE 16 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Pulwama mastermind killed in encounter Mudasir coordinated attack on CRPF convoy; Army says 18 ultras dead in 21 days Majid Jahangir & Suhail A Shah Tribune News Service Srinagar/Anantnag, March 11 Security forces dealt a major blow to Jaish-e-Mohammed, eliminating the key conspirator in the Pulwama bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel and brought India and Pakistan on the brink of war. Senior security officials today announced that 25-year-old Mudasir Khan of Midoora Tral, the main conspirator in the February 14 CRPF convoy attack, had been killed along with a Pakistani national in a fierce gunfight in Pinglish Tral in Pulwama district on Sunday. The bodies of the militants were charred. The gunfight, which broke out in the afternoon, took place 22 km from Lethpora where suicide bomber Adil Dar had rammed his car carrying explosives into the CRPF convoy, killing 40 men. The General Officer Commanding of the Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt IN BRIEF Gave India nod to wear Army caps: ICC on Pak complaint New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday said India was granted permission to wear Army caps in the third ODI against Australia as a tribute to the armed forces, a gesture which Pakistan has objected to. “The BCCI sought permission from the ICC to wear the caps as part of a fundraising drive and in memory of fallen soldiers, which was granted,” an ICC official said. PTI PNB scam: ED files fresh chargesheet against Nirav New Delhi: The ED has filed a fresh chargesheet against PNB scam accused Nirav Modi under the anti-money laundering law, officials said Monday. This is a supplementary chargesheet against the diamantaire and few others and the agency has recorded additional evidences gathered in the case and attachments made, they said. PAGE 11 Suspended Punjab IG Umranangal out on bail Faridkot: The District and Sessions Court on Monday directed the release of suspended IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal on bail. He was arrested by the SIT on February 19 in the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing incidents that took place in October 2015. Setting aside the SIT claim, Sessions Judge Harpal Singh said the IG was deputed by the then DGP to control the situation at the protest sites. PAGE 3 Ishfaq Tantry Tribune news Service Villagers walk past a house damaged during a gunbattle between security forces and militants in Pinglish area of Tral in Pulwama. PTI Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, said, “Mudasir was one of the main Jaish conspirators who helped and coordinated the Pulwama attack.” The joint briefing was also attended by IGP (Kashmir) Swayam Prakash Pani and CRPF IG (Operations) in Kashmir Zulfiqar Hassan. The Corps Commander said post-Pulwama, they had gone all out after Jaish and eliminated 18 militants in 21 days. “The killings of Mudasir and Kamran, a Pakistani national who was the JeM’s operational chief, are part of that operation. We have achieved reasonable success in our mission. The aim is to ensure Pulwama-type incidents don’t recur,” he said. Lt Gen Dhillon said of the 18 militants killed, 14 were from the JeM — six of them key commanders. Eight were Pakistani nationals and 10 were locals. He said other outfits, such as the Hizbul and Lashkar, were on the radar too. us backs india on azhar PAGE 16 Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 11 A mechanism resorted to for resolving a discord between municipal bodies and a company over the execution of a project has generated a dispute — this time over “unreasonable and exorbitant” fee of around Rs 3 crore determined by a former Supreme Court Judge and two other arbitrators. Justice Ashok Bhan of the Supreme Court, former High Court Judge Justice Sudhir Katriar and retired IAS officer Parveen Kumar initially settled on a fee of Rs 49 lakh per arbitrator. An additional 10 per cent was to be charged as miscellaneous expenses for the presiding arbitrator. The amount was, subsequently, doubled. The alternate dispute redressal (ADR) mechanism, with arbitration as an essential component, was introduced in the legal system in the late 90s for reducing heavy demand on court time and for providing efficacious, speedy and affordable remedy to the warring sides in case of a dispute. In case of arbitration, a neutral third party or a panel was JALANDHAR SOLID WASTE MGMT ROW Kolkata, March 11 Stoking a controversy, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee today appeared to suggest that the long-drawn Lok Sabha election process was intended to facilitate yet another “strike” as part of the BJP’s “game plan to disturb” her state. “I have been informed by some senior journalists that there will be another strike. What strike I will not say. In the name of so-called... socalled... so-called... in the month of April. That is why the voting process will continue till May 19. I have great respect for a Constitutional body like the EC. But it is a part of the BJP’s game plan to disturb West Bengal,” she told a press conference. With the TMC boss’ comments seen as an oblique reference to a likely military action by India, the BJP was quick to react. “She has the habit of levelling baseless accusations. She is given to kite-flying. If she has proof, ■ Discord arose over Jaland- har solid waste mgmt project, comprising 23 municipal bodies. In July 2011, a consortium was formed ■ Pact was terminated in May 2016. Three arbitrators were nominated, one by consortium, 2nd by MC and third an ex-SC judge ■ The arbitral tribunal in March last year fixed ~49 lakh fee per arbitrator. The fee was later doubled to ~98 lakh per arbitrator ■ The MC pleaded with HC that the fee was ‘unreasonable and exorbitant’. The court has issued notice to the HC and the firm asked to render decision. But the resolution mechanism gave way to dispute in the matter, with Jalandhar Municipal Corporation raising objections on behalf of itself, as well continued on page 11 After plea by Pak woman, Samjhauta verdict put off Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 11 A special NIA court in Panchkula today deferred till March 14 the pronouncement of verdict in the Samjhauta Express blast case after a last-minute plea by a Pakistani woman seeking deposition of witnesses from her country. Rihala Wakeel, a resident of Hafizabad district in Punjab province of Pakistan whose father Mohammed Wakil was among the deceased, approached the court through her Indian lawyer Momin Malik at 12.05 pm. Momin said his client had emailed her response. “Astonishingly, no witnesses have been summoned from Pakistan even as all of them want to get their statements recorded,” she wrote. An explosion had occurred on the train running between India and Pakistan near the Dewana railway station in Panipat on February 18, 2007, killing 68 passengers. There are 13 Pakistani witnesses in the case who were either travelling on the train when the blast occurred or are relatives of victims. The court has summoned the Pakistani witnesses thrice, but their visit to India could not materialise. ELECTORAL ROLLSMismatches aplenty, Singh turns Kaur, age errors too as state gears up for polls Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 11 In Punjab, 5,916 voters are more than 100 hundred years old, as per the data with the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Dr S Karuna Raju. This data comprises 10,600 names that are being checked for authenticity under the head “Logical Errors” compiled by the Election Registration Office (ERO). Among the errors is mismatch between photos and names. The name of a turbaned Rupinder Singh of Ropar is shown as ‘Rupinder Srinagar, March 11 Choosing not to appear in person before the National Investigation Authority (NIA) in New Delhi on Monday, AllParty Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq urged the probe agency to question him in Srinagar. Citing “the prevailing conditions of hostility” that posed a threat to his “personal safety” , he claimed he was being “victimised solely for his political views.” The NIA had asked Mirwaiz to “report for examination” at its New Delhi headquarters in connection with a case related to alleged funding of terrorists and separatist groups. In response, a four-paged letter by his counsel Ajaz Ahmad Dhar said if the NIA wanted to examine Mirwaiz, it could do so in Srina- Mirwaiz Umar Farooq ‘BALAKOT FOR VOTES’ This strike was done totally for polls. We lost a jet worth crores. Be thankful the IAF pilot survived and returned from Pakistan ❝ Farooq Abdullah, NC CHIEF gar. “He is willing to cooperate. In the circumstances, it will be only prudent if the contemplated examination is conducted at Srinagar”. New Delhi, March 11 Two weeks after the airstrikes on the Jaish-e-Mohammed camp at Balakot in Pakistan, forces remain on high alert. Beneath the calm is a strain of tension. The armed forces — the Army, Navy and the IAF — on both sides remain on alert. Today, when Lt Gen KJS Dhillion spoke in Srinagar and answered questions on firing from across the Line of Control (LoC), he summed up the underlying reality. “Pakistan is targeting our civilian areas as it has not been able to hit us. We have hit military targets,” he told the media. On both sides there are daily alarms about air intrusion by UAVs. “That these are being detected and targeted means surveillance is at an all-time high,” said a senior officer, adding the UAVs were largely used to study movements in particular areas. Air defence guns have been used to shoot down such UAVs. The navies have been constantly patrolling and the air force of both sides continued on page 11 ~3-crore fee for case Protracted poll to facilitate another strike: Didi with arbitral panel, HCissues notice 5,916 voters in Punjab more than100 years old Sanjeev Singh Bariana Won’t travel to Delhi, Mirwaiz tells NIA Armed forces on alert amid UAV intrusions Kaur’ on the computer list, according to a senior official. “The age of certain voters on the computer list is shown as less than 18 years and of some elderly persons as two and three years. Clearly a digit is missing. The error must have occurred during data entry”, he says. According to the CEO, all data under “Logical Errors” will be scrutinised, corrections made and the amended data uploaded within a week from today. Curiously, Govind Ram Khraiti died at age 101 some time back. He was a resident of Gobindgarh, 103-year-old Jeevan Dass in Arjan Nagar, Jalandhar. MALKIAT SINGH Jalandhar. Yet his name continues to be on the voters’ list, points out a neighbour. A resident of Arjun Nagar in Jalandhar, Rajesh Rani Khullar, says: “My 103-yearold father-in-law Jiwan Das Khullar will not be able to cast Today’s issue is of 20 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. his vote because he is immobile. He is hard of hearing too. Senior citizens like him must be allowed to vote online.” Touching 100, Charan Kaur, a resident of Model Town, Patiala, is barely audible. A retired schoolteacher, she is being taken care of by a distant relative. “I will definitely cast my vote,” she says resolutely. Ludhiana district with 863 centenarians tops the chart followed by Amritsar district (558) and Hoshiarpur 449. The Ludhiana (East) Assembly seat has 273 centenarians, Khem Karan 212, Rajasansi 123, Patti 117 and Zira 116. ❝ Seven-phase pollsonly have been announced in Bihar, West Bengal and UP which are expected to play a key role in deciding who forms the next govt. Mamata Banerjee, WEST BENGAL CM she should make it public,” said BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh. Mamata had accused the Centre of creating a “”war-like hysteria” in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and the retaliatory airstrike by the Indian Air Force on a Jaish training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot. She had also said the lives of jawans were more valuable than electoral politics and that the nation had the right to know what had actually happened in Balakot. West Bengal will witness polling in all seven phases. Exuding confidence that her party would win all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Mamata claimed the protracted exercise “will put poll personnel and voters in ‘distress’ as they will have to face the summer heat.” Several leaders of her party have said that polling during the holy month of Ramzan will inconvenience Muslim voters who observe fast. — PTI edit: holes in poll schedule

The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).